there can be no Legislature in the Territory from March, 1856, to January, 1858, except from January to March, 1857, barely two months out of twenty-two!
Third. The next violation of the organic law is the enacting of a fugitive slave law in that Territory, although, by section twenty-eight of the Nebraska bill, the fugitive slave law of the United States was declared "to extend and be in full force within the limits of the territory of Kansas." This is one of the violations that I do not complain much about, for in some respects the territorial law is milder than the national one and requires the slave claimant to pay the costs in advance; but I allude to it to show the utter recklessness of the Kansas legislators and their disregard of the law of Congress. By this law (sections 28 and 29, page 329), persons are prohibited from taking fugitives from the Territory, except in accordance with its provisions, and are fined $500 if they do so.
Fourth. The expenses of the Territory are paid, as is well known, out of the National Treasury; and section thirty of the Nebraska bill enacts that the chief clerk of the Legislature shall receive four dollars per day, and the other clerks three dollars per day. But on page 444 of the Kansas code, you will find an extra douceur to the clerks of fifteen and twenty cents per hundred words for indexing and copying journals; on page 145, another law, declaring that if the Secretary (then acting as Governor after Governor Reeder's removal), should refuse his assent to the above, the chief and assistant clerks should receive $100 each out of the Treasury, besides their per diem; and on the next page, page 146, the pay of the enrolling and engrossing clërks is increased to four dollars per day, on the like contingency, although the organic law expressly fixed it at three dollars per day. The legislators acted as if they had not only conquered the people of Kansas, but the national Treasury also.
Fifth. Section twenty-two of the organic law gives the Governor exclusively the right of determining who were elected members of the Legislature. He did so, throwing out about one-third of the members elected at the first election, the reign of terror and violence preventing more contests of other equally fraudulent returns. But the Legislature, when assembled, without examination of the merits of each case, and without authority to commit such an act at all, threw out all the members elected at the second election, and admitted in their stead those whose right to seats the Governor had expressly denied.
Sixth. Section twenty-four of the organic law enacts:
"That the legislative power of the Territory shall extend to all the rightful subjects of legislation consistent with the Constitution of the United States; but no law shall be passed Interfering with the primary disposal of the soil."
But if you will turn ta page 600, you will see how coolly this bogus Legislature ignores both the Nebraska bill and the preëmption law; for it declares, as if they owned the soil, that in actions of trespass, ejectment, &c., settlers shall be protected in their preëmptions, not of one hundred and sixty acres, but of three hundred and twenty acres;" "that such claim may be located in two different parcels, to suit the convenience of the holder," " without being compelled to prove an actual enclosure;" and the still more flagrant repudiation of the congressional preëmption law, that "occupancy by tenant shall be considered equally valid as personal residence," under which the whole Territory may be pre-empted by Missourians. And this law, with the others, is to be enforced by the President!
Seventh. Section thirty of the Nebraska bill enacts that the official oath to be taken by the Governor and secretary, the judges, "and all other civil officers in said Territory," shall be "to support the Constitution of the United States, and faithfully to discharge the duties of their respective offices." No more—no less. But the legislators of Kansas, with the same disregard of the congressional law that marked their other acts, enacted another kind of official oath on page 438 of their code, as follows:
"Sec. 1. All officers elected or appointed under any existing or subsequently enacted laws of this Territory, shall take and subscribe the following oath of office: ' I,, do solemnly swear upon the Holy Evangelists of Almighty God, that I will support the Constitution of the United Slates and that I will support and sustain the provisions of an act entitled, 'An act to organize the Territories of Nebraska and Kansas,' and the provisions of the law of the United States, commonly known as the 'fugitive slave law,' and faithfully and impartially and to the best of my ability, demean myself in the discharge of my duties in the office of; so help me God."
You cannot fail to notice that in this new oath, framed by the bogus Legislature, the fugitive slave law is elevated to a "higher law," than the Constitution; for the officer is merely to "support" the latter, but is required to swear that he will "support and sustain," the other.
Besides these seven palpable, flagrant and unconcealed violations of the organic law organizing the Territory, I point you now to five equally direct and open violations of the Constitution of the United States; for that instrument has been trampled upon as recklessly as the laws of Congress.
First. The very first amendment to the Constitution of the United States prohibits the passage of any law "abridging the freedom of speech;" and it is a significant fact, as can be learned from Hickey's Constitution, page 33, that this with a number of other
